The past couple of months have been life-changing, thanks to COVID-19. In some ways, the changes have been really positive. We’ve spent more time as a family, I’ve gotten to have a lot more quality time at home with my three year old, and I’m learning to lean into going with the flow of things. I’m grateful for the good things.
But I gotta keep it real.
Life at home, trying to keep my business afloat during a pandemic, and juggling a threenager has taken a toll on my creativity. My work is picking up again (hallelujah) and I’ve started to put a few things in place that help boost my creativity. If you have been on the creative struggle bus like me the last few weeks, read on for few tips that might help get the creativity flowing again.
I put my kid first. If he’s not settled and busy, there is no way I can get settled and busy too. We wake up in the morning, I get his essential chocolate milk and breakfast ready, and then turn him loose with a fun toy, cartoons, or his iPad. A mama’s gotta do, what a mama’s gotta do.
I pick up my work space. I can be easily distracted by clutter, laundry, or any kind of mess that’s visible from my home office. Before I sit down to work, I try and pick things up a little beforehand so I don’t get derailed by nagging thoughts about my messy house. My house is by no means spotless, there is constantly some kind of mess, but it helps me stay on track if I at least can’t see it from my desk.
Turn on some creative tunes. My favorite playlist is this one on Google Music. It’s called Deep Focus Instrumentals and it really helps get me in a creative headspace and stay there. Words in music can be distracting for me, especially if what I’m doing includes content writing, so I love that this playlist is full of upbeat instrumentals. Really gets the right brain grooving!
ACV and Coffee. The coffee is a given, the apple cider vinegar might not be for everybody. I started taking a shot of it first thing every morning, followed by my vitamins and a huge glass of ice water. I used to wake up and go straight to my coffee pot, but I’ve found that ACV really wakes me up in the morning. That might be because I find it so awful, but the health benefits outweigh the nastiness. I still fix an iced coffee before heading to my desk, but the horrid ACV shot has helped me cut down on the caffeine a little.
Set Boundaries. This is so important for everyone, but especially people who are creatives. If I don’t set boundaries and time limits for myself, I might work on a project for hours and hours on end. By the time I make myself step away, I have major burn out. Setting boundaries, time limits, and schedules help with that. I’m a free spirit and haven’t ever been a huge fan of scheduling my life out way ahead of time, but motherhood and being a business owner has changed that. Kinda. I try to look at least a week ahead, set aside time for work, time for my family, and self-care. I’ve started reserving the weekends for family time and me time. I’ll still jump on the computer if a client has an emergency, but having that time off on the weekend gets me ready to face the next week head on.
I hope these tips will help you boost your creativity! I’d love to hear how you’re getting into a creative workflow! Sound off in the comments below.